How We Determined and Prioritized the New Features for HR HelpDesk 6.0
At a sales meeting last week I was asked how LBi Software determines and prioritizes the new features we add to HR HelpDesk. The answer was easy; we poll our users of the various versions – from the Free version to the Enterprise version. At least I thought the answer was easy. The tricky part is always in the prioritizing.
Making a list and checking it twice
Polling your user base is easy in concept. Setup a poll for the SaaS clients (Free, Pro and ProPlus versions) and have the Product Managers call the Enterprise clients directly. Should you have a predefined list of questions? If so, aren’t you seeding the results? How do you get the actual user preference? Should you use Free Form questions?
One easy solution was to take all of the SaaS features that were rolled out over the last 2+ years via continuous improvement and ask the Enterprise clients to indicate which ones would be important to them.
So we did all of the above — created Surveys, directly called select Pro and ProPlus clients, called all the Enterprise clients. We then gathered all the results and prioritized.
Prioritizing the list
Here is the problem, we prioritized the list. We lost some of the user preference. Sort of like a parent rearranging the kids list for Santa. The “we know better” attitude takes over. But in HR Case Management we do not know better than the user. In fact, in any application that is the case.
Here is one example of how we got it wrong: We put a feature in our SaaS version called the “Resource Page” that had user guides, how-to videos, a wiki on how to use the application. We never put it in our Enterprise version. Because “WE” assumed our Enterprise users have their hands held by our Product Managers, and our SaaS users are all self-service. There is no need for an Enterprise user to have a resource page. Well we all know what happens when you assume… and we did. You can never give a user too many tools. And in today’s fast-paced work environment, the quickest way someone can get an answer is find it themselves. Self-service on all fronts reigns supreme. And we almost prioritized it off the list.
Luckily, one user screamed loud enough for us to hear them! Thank you for saving us from ourselves.
HR HelpDesk 6.0 is available for upgrade today on the application’s Free, Pro, ProPlus, and Enterprise editions.
